There was a time when Javed Akhtar found a roof over his head at the Kamalistan studios in suburban Mumbai. During one of those nightly stopovers when he dreamt 70 mm dreams of success as a writer and poet, Javed came across Filmfare trophies of the legendary Meena Kumari. As he caressed those gorgeous statuesques he dreamt of having one of those for himself one day.
Son of the eminent poet Jan Nissar Akhtar, Javed’s dreams have been realized many times over. He is the recipient of every popular award in the country including the National award for best lyricist.
Javed’s career isn’t very easy to define or explain. His long stint as a screenwriter in partnership with Salim Khan and later, solo, yielded such mega-boxoffice bonanzas as Zanjeer, Deewaar, Sholay, Yaadon Ki Baraat(the film in which Aamir Khan was cast as a child) and Mr India. As a screenwriter Javed introduced audiences to a new mature kind of entertainment where the hero fought with the demons within and outside in a forceful rush of anti-establishment rhetorics.
It would be no exaggeration to say that Javed revolutionized screenwriting in the country. There were other revolutions waiting around the corner. In 1981 Javed turned lyricist with Yash Chopra’s Silsila. Ever since he hasn’t looked back. His career as a songwriter has gone from strength to strength. As in his screenplays, in his lyrics Javed strives to introduce the conversational colloquial idiom without sacrificing the inherent poetry of his writings.
In his proximity to thoughts, words and images from everyday life Javed Akhtar’s lyrics come close to Shailendra’s modes of expression. From a Border song like Mere dushman mere bhai where the poet spoke out passionately on the theme of Indo-Pak solidarity, to the mesmeric and lyrical So gaye hain kho gaye hain dil ke afsane in Zubeida to the colloquial ‘Awadhi’ dialect of the songs Lagaan, Javed Akhtar seems to be constantly reaching towards forms of expression that echo the songs and sighs of life .
For the first time since Shakeel Badayuni penned those ebullient Awadhi songs for Dilip Kumar in Ganga Jumna, Javed Akhtar has done the same for Aamir Khan in Lagaan. The results are as potent and pulsating as this prolific poet’s nonsensical rhymes for Mr India and Darmiyaan.
Constantly pushing the envelope, Javed is the poet who sees tomorrow in his poetry. And he doesn’t flinch.
